WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

I'm a Reporter, Please let me get off the Stage

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Chapter 53

“The main PD wanted me to make sure you knew that he’s very interested in this topic.”

“Ah, I see……”

Honestly, I wasn’t surprised this was coming. I had just been so caught up in other things that I had let it slip my mind.

One way or another, they were going to bring up Haedun.

I just needed to measure my words carefully. Plan ahead for the edit points.

“……That’s right. Before joining this program, our member Haedun was briefly out of contact.”

“Could you explain in detail? How exactly did you lose contact? Why? And for how long?”

Was this an interrogation? They’d just cut out whatever didn’t fit their story anyway.

I was this close to just giving them the dullest, safest answer ever (Meaning I would be repeating a lot of words that meant nothing)......

But if I did that they would spring me as some bitter failure, eaten up by jealousy, and throw me to the wolves.

“……To be honest, our group.”

I spoke slowly, deliberately.

“We’ve had a lot of discussions about the future of WEEKANIZ. Our goal as members have always been the same. To work even harder and share our music with more fans.”

“Yes.”

“But recently, for a variety of reasons, we started to wonder if it was truly possible to keep going. That led to a long period of conflict between Haedun and me.”

“Are you saying that there were members that wanted to leave or disband the group?”

‘Yeah, literally all of them, shit……’

……I couldn’t say that, obviously.

“No one was actively pushing for it (Except, you know, all of them running away), but we did start discussing whether a change in direction was necessary.”

“You say ‘If necessary’...... In what scenario would that be? You do have fans, after all.”

Was this an interview or a battle royale?

The way they were digging in was painfully familiar, probably because it was exactly how I used to be as a reporter. The irony.

“We were thinking about what direction would make our fans happiest. We never made any decisions without considering them.”

“So you’re saying the fans wanted the group to disband?”

“I never said ‘disband’.”

I could feel the writer’s stare drilling into me.

This time, I didn’t meet their gaze.

Instead, I fixed my eyes straight ahead, staring into the empty, soulless camera lens.

If they thought I was going to roll over and take this, they were dead wrong.

Sure, I had half-blackmailed PD Kim to get us on the show.

But what was he gonna do? Publicly admit I forced him to cast us? Yeah, right.

We all had weak points.

“……WEEKANIZ is not disbanding.”

“So was it Haedun who wanted to leave?”

“Haedun is, as you know, a dancer. He’s amazing at creating and performing choreography. He wanted more opportunities to showcase that talent, and we fully supported him in that.”

“And that’s why he went radio silent and then joined <Dance Off>?”

“We weren’t fighting or anything, we were just busy. Both of us. Haha!”

I forced out a loud, exaggerated laugh, rubbing the back of my head in an overly casual gesture.

Anything to keep them from noticing the cold sweat running down my spine.

Holy shit, turns out there was someone out there more vicious than that PD.

My brain felt like it had been picked apart by crows.

The writer let out their signature, infuriating ‘Hmm~’ before mulling something over.

Then, they spoke.

“So Haedun had ambitions to go solo.”

“It’s natural for any idol to want to showcase their strengths. Self-promotion is crucial in this industry. And all of us in WEEKANIZ firmly believe that Haedun deserves to be recognized by even more people for his talent.”

Wow, if Haedun ever saw this interview, he’d cry.

Wasn’t this just too touching?

I thought I actually pulled off a decent response.

“Hmm…… Haedun didn’t seem to know much about that. Well, noted.”

“What?”

“The leader interview is over. But I think you, Yuyoung-ssi, will probably need to come in one more time…… I’ll call you when the time comes. You can leave for now.”

“Ah, yes, yes……”

What did they mean, Haedun didn’t seem to know?

A bad feeling flashed through my mind like a warning siren.

But I didn’t even have the time to confirm it. I was already being ushered out.

By the time I stepped outside, the clock was nearing 3 pm.

* * *

“The uniforms are a bit kitschy……”

“I actually think it works better this way. If we wore actual military green, it’d just look dull as hell. People would rip us apart for it.”

Haram and Baekgyeom were deep in discussion.

Before heading into the interview, I had passed my sketches over to Ire.

Ire had delivered my sketches to the stylists outside in record time.

And it seemed like they had already responded.

Since there wasn’t enough time to tailor anything from scratch, they decided to purchase existing outfits and make quick modifications instead.

They had selected a few pieces and sent reference photos to the production team, which Ire then relayed to us.

The outfits were calm-looking but sleek.

A blend of navy, black and white.

Nothing too flashy, but mixed in a way that still felt appropriate for an idol performance.

What was most surprising was that the stylists suggested ditching the jackets entirely.

Apparently, they made the look too polished. Considering the song’s overall tone and direction, a more relaxed approach suited it better.

Instead, they opted for variations like vests over shirts, standalone shirts, or shirts with ties.

They wanted to use accessories to add points of interest to the minimalistic tops.

Of course, the experts would be right……

So I quickly nodded along.

However, unlike me, Haram seemed a little less convinced.

He seemed somewhat disappointed by how far the designs had strayed from traditional military uniforms.

Who was the real military nerd here?

“We have to be careful with military uniforms. What if the Korean Ministry of National Defense sues us?”

“……I don’t think they’re that petty.”

I couldn’t help but chime in at Tae Oh’s nonsense.

“This gives off more of an ‘agent’ vibe than a soldier one, doesn’t it?”

“Ooh, you’re right.”

Everyone agreed to Sanho’s observation.

The sleek, tailored fit really did give off that agent look.

“But will it match with the rifle props?”

Haram seemed worried.

“I think it’ll work. The outfits kind of resemble what those agents wear during pistol training…… in dramas, you know?”

“Ooh, yeah. You’re right.”

Haram seemed slightly more convinced after hearing that from me and Beakgyeom.

Hmm, I still felt kind of uneasy.

I wanted to make sure everyone was genuinely satisfied with the direction we were going.

“If we choreograph the routine in a way that integrates the rifle props well, I think we can really bring out the vibe you’re aiming for.”

“You think so~.”

“Yeah…… It’s not like we can wear full ARMY bulletproof vests here, anyway.”

“Yeah…… Huh?”

“Huh?”

Bulletproof vests?

The moment those words left my mouth, I realized something……

“……Bulletproof vests?”

I muttered furtively.

“Protective goggles?”

Haram shot back instantly.

Ooh.

For something we just blurted out, this seems pretty good, right?

“……Seo Haedun. What do you think?”

“Good enough.”

That was it.

For Seo Haedun, that level of response meant ‘I’ve got a vision. Just trust me.’

The arrangement room, unlike the dance practice room, was available for use 24/7.

Since we still had about an hour left before our scheduled practice time, we all headed there together.

Haram, Beakgyeom, and Haedun took the lead on arranging the song.

The rest of us were just there to throw in occasional comments or reactions.

Sanho, Ire, Tae Oh, and I sat on the couch.

Haedun, Haram, and Baekgyeom positioned themselves in front of the keyboard and monitor.

Haram pitched ideas, Baekgyeom gave feedback, and Haedun sketched out the stage performance on the side.

I sat there, observing everything and thinking about the part distribution.

The song had way too much rap.

Rap tracks in idol albums often fell into the cringey, boring, and poorly executed category, making them easily overlooked.

This track was no exception.

The over-the-top lyrics and monotonous beat desperately needed some kind of revival.

Whether that meant adding a retro trot twist or leaning into disco elements.

“What if we keep the beat but completely shift it into a house dance track?”

“If we do that we’ll pretty much have to rebuild the entire melody from scratch.”

Baekgyeom expressed some concern at Haram’s rather ambitious suggestion.

“Then we rebuild it. We’ve got seven people. Someone’s bound to stumble onto something good if we just hum stuff until something sticks.”

“……Hyung, you do realize that’s not how writing melodies works, right?”

“Hey, I do know that.”

“Then why are you talking about it like it’s that simple? You sounded so confident just now.”

“……Can you stop nagging?”

“I’m not nagging…… just saying.”

Haram and Baekgyeom’s conversation was spiraling off-topic.

I caught a flash of irritation on Haram’s face.

I quietly got up and wedged myself between them.

“Knock it off. We don’t have time for this.”

“We weren’t fighting!”

Both of them snapped at me at the same time.

Hmm, I felt like my ears were bleeding.

“Melody is tough to compose…… But it’s also true that there’s no one right way to do it. So isn’t it best to get as many brains working on it as possible?”

“That’s true, but…… How do you expect me to come up with something in an hour? I’ve taken months before.”

Baekgyeom grumbled, clearly noticing that I was siding with Haram here.

“You don’t have to rebuild the melody from scratch, just tweak the chord progression a bit. You do that all the time, don’t you?“

“……Talk to Haram-hyung, not me.”

Pouting, huh? This little brat.

“Fine, Haram can figure out the chords, and you can check them over.”

“If I say anything to Haram-hyung, he’s just gonna call it nagging again.”

“Are you five? Say that one more time, and I’ll nag you nonstop until this show ends.”

“Urgh, fine.”

Baekgyeom got nagged 100 times more than Haram, which was probably why he really hated it.

As I shot him a sharp glare, Baekgyeom quickly averted his eyes and dragged his chair closer to sit down.

Honestly, the discipline I hammered into him during that <Totter> practice probably had a lingering effect, which kept him in check.

That was pretty convenient.

Baekgyeom, for all his bluster, was just an empty shell, so he was pretty easy to handle.

“Oh, how’s this? C and D minor. The chords are super simple, but they sound nice.”

Haram played the chords in a repeated progression and glanced at us for feedback.

“The simplest ones always sound the best.”

Baekgyeom slightly acted up again.

“……That sounds pretty solid, doesn’t it?”

Casually ignoring Baekgyeom, I answered to Haram.

The chords were easy on the ears.

Catchy without being too flashy, and definitely not too complicated.

It had that classic hook that made for a solid chorus.

“Hmm…… Let’s speed up the tempo and play it back.”

How long has it been since I saw them go into such a promising direction?

I had a good feeling about this.

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